LUBBOCK — National Sorghum Producers and the Texas Grain Sorghum Association welcome government approval of sulfoxaflor, the active ingredient in Transform WG, for use in grain sorghum by Texas producers this growing season.

“The availability of Transform WG is crucial to helping sorghum farmers combat the sugarcane aphid,” Tim Lust, NSP CEO, said. “We thank the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for their approval of this important crop protection tool, which augments industry efforts to develop better management practices and resources to meet this unprecedented challenge.”

The EPA announced the agency approved a request for the use of sulfoxaflor (Transform WG), a Dow AgroSciences product, on up to 3 million acres in Texas to control the sugarcane aphid this growing season. The Texas Department of Agriculture filed the request through a Section 18 emergency use application under the U.S. Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). The 2016 authorization includes new restrictions related to preventing exposure to bees, including a prohibition on the application of Transform WG from three days prior to bloom to seed set.

“Texas sorghum farmers are now better equipped to control the sugarcane aphid and prevent yield loss while making a profit,” Wayne Cleveland, executive director of the Texas Grain Sorghum Association, said. “Thank you to all the Texas sorghum producers who commented during the application process and the Texas Department of Agriculture for their work to make this announcement possible.”

The EPA canceled the registration for sulfoxaflor (Transform WG) in November 2015 following a ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Transform WG was widely used to control sugarcane aphids during the 2014 and 2015 growing seasons. More than 10 states received emergency use exemptions to use Transform WG last year, mitigating yield, revenue and acreage loss in thousands of U.S. sorghum acres.

In collaboration with Dow AgroSciences, Bayer CropScience and researchers across the United States, the Sorghum Checkoff has invested in sugarcane aphid research focusing on timing of treatments, thresholds as well as susceptibility and tolerance of individual sorghum varieties. Sorghum producers can access these resources at http://sorghumcheckoff.com/pest-management/.